By Gary Harrington DLIFLC Public Affairs The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center celebrated Black History Month Feb. 26, at the Tin Barn on the Presidio of Monterey. The event began with the national anthem, sung by the joint force DLIFLC choir, and was then followed by the invocation from Air Force 517th Chaplain, Capt. John Runnels. Following the invocation, Army Col. Glen Fallo of the Dental Activity Command, gave the opening remarks and introduced the guest speaker, Reverend Valentine Royal Thomas, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Pacific Grove, Calif. Reverend Thomas is an ordained pastor of the American Baptist Churches USA. She is the first recipient of the J. Alfred Smith Preaching Award (Allen Temple Baptist Church, Oakland, Calif.) and an inductee of the Morehouse College of Preachers (Morehouse College Atlanta, Ga.). Reverend Thomas is a graduate of the American Baptist Seminary of West Berkeley, Calif., with undergraduate studies in Special Education and Music from the Lone Mountain College in San Francisco, Calif. “A Century of Black Life History and Culture,” was the theme for the event with Reverend Thomas speaking to the crowd of approximately 130 patrons. Reverend Thomas revisited and shared stories from her life and her parishioners, and mentioned many black Americans who paved the way for others to follow, culminating with the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. The DLIFLC choir ended the ceremony with the song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” by James Weldon Johnson (1871 – 1928), an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and civil rights...

By Gary Harrington DLIFLC Public Affairs MONTEREY, Calif. – The sun came out just in time to kickoff the Commandant’s at the Presidio of Monterey Feb. 18. With more than 3,000 service members from the Army, Marine, Navy and Air Force taking part, DLIFLC Commandant, Col. David K. Chapman, led the run which began at the Price Fitness Center athletic field. The run wound its way up and down hills and curves of the Presidio of Monterey before eventually reaching the bottom of the Presidio’s Soldier Field. Service members were in high spirit with the Presidio’s largest battalion, the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion, leading the way with cadence calls, a traditional call-and-response sung by military personnel while running or marching. The Air Force followed with the Navy and Marines bringing up the rear. Once at the bottom of the Presidio on Soldier Field, Chapman addressed the service members with a congratulatory “well done.” He told the service members that at larger installations, the Commandant’s run can consist of more than 20,000 participants, making this run look small with its 3,000 service members. Chapman pledged to host another Commandant’s Runs in July. The Commandant then handed the stage over to Command Sgt. Maj. Matildo Coppi who laterally promoted Provost Sgt. Maj. Wyndham Fox to Command Sergeant Major. Fox served as Provost Sgt. Maj. at DLIFLC since June 2012 and headed for a new assignment to serve as Battalion Command Sergeant Major at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. The United States Army first established the rank of Sergeant Major during the Revolutionary War, when Baron Fredrick William von Steuben, a Prussian volunteer, spelled out the...

By Gary Harrington DLIFLC Public Affairs MONTEREY, Calif. – Over the last 60 years, students of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center have volunteered, carried golf bags, and worked concession booths while creating great memories of their days at the once named Bing Crosby National Pro-Am in Monterey, Calif. Today, although the name has changed (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 1985) it is no different as more than 250 service men and women volunteer, giving valuable support to the PGA Tour, the community, and numerous charities who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars of funds raised during this six-day annual event. Pebble Beach Golf Links opened its doors in 1919 along the spectacular Pacific Ocean making it one of the greatest public courses in America. In 1947, The U.S. Army Language School opened just minutes away in Monterey. In the early years students would walk the 4-5 miles to play on Pebble Beach or carry bags earning a few extra dollars when not in classes. Since 1947 the Pebble Beach Pro-Am is held annually in early February, except in 1996 when it was cancelled due to bad weather. The tournament is held on 3 courses on Pebble Beach Resorts, Spyglass Hill, the Links at Spanish Bay and Pebble Beach Golf Links. In the early years, the tournament was named the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am with the winner receiving $2,000 for winning the tournament; today the winner receives $1.2 million, with the tournaments total purse exceeding $6.8 million dollars. Over the years students from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and nearby Naval Post Graduate School have volunteered...

By Natela Cutter DLIFLC Public Affairs MONTEREY, Calif. – Ten individuals were inducted as new U.S. citizens in a naturalization ceremony that took place at the Presidio of Monterey Feb. 5, marking the seventh such event hosted by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. “I worked very hard to come to the United States and today my dream has come true,” said Asma Naser from Afghanistan and a Pashto instructor at DLIFLC. Naser, who speaks excellent English, came to the U.S. in 2006, after having worked at the European Commission in Kabul for a year. “I am so happy today,” beamed Naser, who said that she was fortunate to attend Middleburry College, Vermont, and receive a degree in International Studies. “I love teaching my culture and language to students. They work really hard,” she said. Naturalization ceremonies occur several times a year at DLIFLC, organized by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from nearby San Jose, California, in cooperation with the Institute’s Faculty Personnel System. Some 1,800 foreign language instructors teach 23 languages at the Institute. “It is an honor to welcome you as new citizens of the United States,” said Gary Garman, USCIS section chief who presided over the event. Those naturalized Thursday came from a number of countries, including Iraq, Iran, Somalia and China. “I feel proud of myself and proud to be an American,” said Bunyada Horn from Thailand. Horn came to the U.S. with her husband who had been stationed in Thailand in 2008. She has been able to gain her General Education Degree and is looking forward to a career in...

02/04/15 By Gary Harrington DLIFLC Public Affairs The Marine Corps Detachment defeated the Army, Air Force and Navy at the second quarter Commanders Cup Feb. 4, on Soldier Field. Just before the competition began, several awards were presented to service members. Mr. Don Conrad presented the West Point Society of the Monterey Peninsula Leadership Award and recognized, Lance Cpl. Paul Smith from the Marine Corps Detachment, Seaman John Wallace from the Center for Information Dominance Unit, Airman 1st Class Nathan Thompson from the 517th Training Group. Mr. John Alich, the presenter for the Naval Academy Leadership Award recognized Sgt. Jesse David from Marine Corps Detachment and Petty Officer 1 Christopher Franks from the Center for Information Dominance Unit. Lastly, DLIFLC Command Sergeant Major, Matildo Coppi, presented the CSM coin with certificates to Sgt. Miguel Iles and Sgt. Jesse David from the Marine Corps Detachment. To make the competition more interesting, DLIFLC Commandant, Col. David K. Chapman began the race by announcing the names of randomly drawn service members to compete in pull-ups, sit-ups, burpees, the litter race, and the relay race. With an equal number of female and male competitors, the Marines and Army made it clear – it was their competition win, with the Air Force and Navy trailing behind. In the end, the Marines took the Commanders Cup for a second straight time. Although the Navy came in last, Chapman praised them for their spirit of competition. The Commanders Cup is held quarterly with the next event tentatively scheduled for late April or early...

By Natela Cutter DLIFLC Public Affairs MONTEREY, Calif., – Maj. Gen. Charles W. Hooper, the senior defense attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, shared advice and some of his life experiences with Foreign Area Officers at the Presidio of Monterey Jan. 13. A Joint Foreign Area Officer Course is organized each year by the DLIFLC FAO office, gathering officers from all four branches of the military for several days to teach new FAOs and their spouses about their future career path and what will be expected of them while working abroad. “You (are expected) to act as a combat multiplier…FAOs are always shaping. In the Army we call it ‘Prevent, Shape and Win,’ …the essence of your talents and your skills is to shape that strategic environment and hopefully prevent the possibility or the utility of arms,” said Hooper, to more than 100 officers. As regionally focused experts, FAOs normally receive foreign language training at DLIFLC and possess unique skills with political, cultural, sociological, economic, and geographic awareness of the nations they study. These highly trained individuals will go on to receive Master degrees in their field of expertise and serve as defense attaches, political-military advisors, and occupy positions at the Joint Staff, major Combatant Commands and Department of Defense. “Build partner capacity in support of U.S. goals and objectives,” recommended Hooper. “The reason you are being trained to do what you do is to assist our partners in creating a security environment that is favorable to U.S. interests.” Hooper also recommended that one of the most important aspects of being a FAO is the ability...